Good Deed Foiled By Good Weather

After last year's punishing winter, 55-year-old Jin Choi may be the only local man who has been hoping for another chance to shovel snow.

But the man's muscle memory has not daunted him. Choi signed up with State Sen. Tony Avella's office to volunteer to dig out the driveways and sidewalks of local seniors.

Avella's office came up with the idea to create a corps of snow shovellers after hearing constituents bewail the lack of young people looking to earn a few bucks with their shovels.

"It's the oddest thing," said Edward Fleming, a spokesman for Avella. "The Boy and Girl Scouts weren’t even willing to do it."

Then  said, "we’ve got plenty of people who want to do it."

Choi is one of about a dozen people, including many from the church, who volunteered with Avella's office after reading an announcement about the group in a Korean language newspaper.

"These people need help," Choi recounted thinking to himself as he read it. He considered that he himself is able-bodied, and he has a car.

“Many seniors are unable to remove the smallest amount of snow and are completely trapped following the larger storms.  Unfortunately, they are still responsible for the snow removal in front of their homes and often receive fines from the City for not clearing the snow from their sidewalks," Avella said in January. "Hopefully we can enlist more volunteers,” he added.

Their next opportunity to pitch in might be next winter, as Choi was left disappointed by the today.

If you'd like to volunteers like Choi, call Sen. Avella's office at 718-357-3094.